Disbelief as Ivanka sits in for her absent father at G20 leaders meeting
Trump’s daughter acts as the US president’s proxy
DONALD Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, stunned world leaders by filling in for her father during a round-table meeting at the G20 Summit in Hamburg after he left the room for another appointment.
Ms Trump, who works as an adviser to her father at the White House, took his place next to Angela Merkel and other world leaders during a meeting about Africa.
Also seated nearby was Turkey’s Recip Tayyip Erdogan.
It is believed to be the first time a leader’s daughter has acted as a ‘proxy’ at such an event. Ivanka Trump – sometimes dubbed the ‘daughter-in-chief’ – was pictured sitting at a table with world leaders such as Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Theresa May.
Mr Trump had left for a bilateral meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leaving his 35-year-old former fashion executive daughter to stand in during talks on African migration and health.
A White House official said the move was nothing out of the ordinary.
Ms Trump, who acts as an unpaid adviser to her father in the White House, is not thought to have spoken.
It is not uncommon for leaders to send proxies to attend meetings for them, even at international summits.
But writer and historian Anne Applebaum used Twitter to denounce ‘an unelected, unqualified, unprepared New York socialite’ being seen as ‘the best person to represent American national interests’.
‘This kind of thing happens all the time. In dictatorships,’ added women’s rights activist Amy Siskind.
Ivanka also joined Mr Trump, with her husband Jared Kushner, at a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Merkel earlier in the week.
At a news conference later, Ms Merkel – the host leader of the G20 in Hamburg – said: ‘The delegations themselves decide, should the president not be present for a meeting, who will then take over and sit in the chair. Ivanka Trump was part and parcel of the American delegation so that is something that other delegations also do. It’s very well known that she works at the White House and is also engaged in certain initiatives.’
Speaking after Ms Trump took part in a World Bank initiative to fund women entrepreneurs, the US president praised his daughter: ‘I’m very proud of my daughter Ivanka, always have been from day one. I have to tell you that, from day one,’ he said.
‘If she weren’t my daughter it’d be so much easier for her. It might be the only bad thing she has going if you want to know the truth.’
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin hailed his first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump, saying the US leader accepted his assurances that Russia did not meddle in last year’s presidential election. Mr Trump is under pressure over an FBI investigation into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia during last year’s US election.
Mr Putin added that their conversation could serve as a model for improving ties between the two countries.
‘An unelected, unqualified socialite’